The redshirt freshman spoke with reporters Wednesday afternoon where he discussed the benefits of his redshirt season as well as his desire to see the Penn State hockey team compete in the new state-of-the-art Pegula Ice Arena.

Q: You’ve got a lot of your collegiate career ahead of you. What impact does yesterday’s news regarding the NCAA’s changes to Penn State’s scholarship reductions have on you and the program?

A: Akeel Lynch: “It’s positive news for Penn State as a whole and also for the football team. As the guys said earlier we’re just focused on this bye week, getting healthy and then prepare for Indiana the week after that. They’re a very tough opponent.”

Q: What was the main factor that kept you at Penn State after the sanctions came out in July of 2012?

A: Lynch: “When I looked at Penn State I took football out of the equation. I just looked at the academics, the social life and life after football. I believe that once I graduate here if I do pursue the NFL or if I don’t I do believe I’ll be in a good position because Penn State does have one of the largest alumni groups and the academics here are also very good.”

Q: Being from Canada did you grow up a hockey fan? If so are you excited for the Pegula Ice Arena to open up soon?

A: Lynch: “Being Canadian hockey is just part of your blood. I’m definitely excited to see a couple hockey games this year at the Pegula Arena. I heard it’s one of the best facilities in the world for hockey so I’m definitely excited for Penn State and also for myself being Canadian.”

Q: Do you think you were ready to play as a true freshman or was the redshirt the right decision for you?

A: Lynch: “I think every freshman that comes into college believes that they can play right now because they came from high school where they were the guy. I believe redshirting was one of the best decisions I made because I was able to improve physically and I think the bigger thing was I was able to get acclimated to school and the social life and getting used to college without worrying about playing football. When this year came up I was actually a lot more ready and a lot more comfortable with school and everything outside of football.”